Dellorto Experts - Check me out Options

[bandjoey]

Car has a 1.8 that was rebuilt before I bought the car. The PO doesn't know what was done or size of the rebuild...he just paid the bill to make it run.

It has DRLA carbs. It came with a Tomlinson Tech book, and in the back of the book is written:
140 Main
9164 2
60 Idle
34Mm Main Venturi

I bought a Pierburg rotary fuel pump from a local shop and was told it didn't need a pressure regulator at the time - it had an internal regulator that put out 3.5lbs. Can anyone confirm this or do I need to get a fuel pressure gauge to test the pressure? If I need a regulator, what's the right one to get.

The motor runs strong and pulls with torque from 3000 up to 5000. Occasionally, I'll hear a small single pop from the carb when I step on the pedal, but it's not often.

However, my gas mileage stinks, and when I start the car after it's been sitting for a few days, there's the distinctive smell of the old lawnmower starting up - that pukey gas smell out the exhaust. Within a couple of minutes, the smell is gone.

I'm going to go through the entire trouble shooting process this weekend from the book. Valves, timing, sync the carbs, and adjust the mixture etc.

??? Exactly what do the numbers above mean and mean to me? Are these carbs a good size for a 1.8ish motor? Suggestions of what to look for with bad gas mileage? Any DFW Dellorto experts that want to supervise? Thanks All.

(yeah Clay, I'm going to work on the FI back on this winter (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) )

[70_914]

I ran the DRLA 34's on a mean 1641cc bug motor and it ran great. Rich of idle, great at high RPM. I ran an MSD coil, 009 distributor and my Bosch Super copper plugs gapped to .060" to keep from fouling anything. I imagine these carbs are a much better fit on a 1.8. I did not run a fuel pressure regulator.

The single pop could be one cylinder out of sync with the rest and loading up.

What kind of fuel economy are you getting? "Poor" economy is kinda vague... Dual 2 barrel carbs on these engines don't like to putt around town, there is going to be a trade-off. If you tune the engine to make good power from 3-5k rpm, then it will run poorly at idle and at 2k rpm when you are cruising around town.

If you want to get in, start your car and just drive then you need to put your fuel injection back on. If you want your car to run good around town and have good throttle response but limited high end power, get single barrel carbs. If you like to rev the (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stromberg.gif) out of your car and scream around at high rpm, keep the dual barrel carbs and deal with the limitations.

There will be 20 different answers if 25 people respond to this thread...